Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between loss prevention specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a loss prevention specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $47,451 average annual salary of a loss prevention specialist.
The top three skills for a loss prevention specialist include customer service, safety program and store management. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Loss Prevention Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $47,451 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $22.81 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 59,094 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 49 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
A loss prevention specialist is responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the store premises from shoplifters and even from employees' suspicious activities. Loss prevention specialists manage the installation of surveillance devices, monitor the daily store operations, and track business and financial transactions from the database. They also coordinate with law enforcement personnel for investigation on theft cases and other related retail complications. A loss prevention specialist must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills, especially on preparing incident reports and apprehending violators.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Loss prevention specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Loss Prevention Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $47,451 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $87,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Booz Allen Hamilton | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between a loss prevention specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Loss Prevention Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between loss prevention specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Loss Prevention Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 49 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.0% Female, 28.0% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 1.2% White, 71.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 18% | 11% |